Apr 21, 2026 3:38pm IST
‘Awarapan 2’ Vs ‘Lahore 1947’: Can Sunny Deol Win the Box-Office Clash Against Emraan Hashmi, This Time Too?
The makers of the Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Awarapan 2" have announced a new release date after missing the initial April 21 release. The musical romantic-actioner will now hit the screens on August 14 during the Independence Day weekend. Interestingly, the Aamir Khan production venture “Lahore 1947,” featuring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta has already booked this slot and is hitting the screens on August 13.
Sunny Deol Vs Emraan Hashmi
However, this is not the first time that Sunny Deol and Emraan Hashmi have locked horns at the box office. On June 29, 2007, the first part of “Awarapan” clashed with “Apne.” During that period, the sports drama, featuring Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol, emerged as a winner at the ticket windows with a collection of 22.07 crore, while Emraan Hashmi and Shriya Saran’s film failed at the box office with a business of 7.76 crore.
Nevertheless, “Awarapan” garnered a ‘cult classic’ status among the audiences, and is often said to be the best work of director Mohit Suri and actor Emraan Hashmi.
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Which film will open big?
So, the question arises: Of the two, “Awarapan 2” and “Lahore 1947,” which film will take a bigger opening at the box office? As a franchise film and owing to the goodwill of the first part, “Awarapan 2” has a chance of getting a good opening at the ticket windows. But there are a few things which might go against the film. First, unlike the first prequel, “Awarapan 2” is not directed by Mohit Suri, as Nitin Kakkar is helming the movie. The second part, Emraan Hashmi’s films as the lead actor, have not been performing well at the box office with “Chehre,” “Selfiee,” “Ground Zero” and “Haq” being recent examples.
On the other hand, Sunny Deol has given back-to-back box-office hits “Gadar 2,” “Jaat” and “Border 2.”
“Lahore 1947” also marks the reunion of Sunny Deol and director Rajkumar Santoshi, who have previously delivered blockbusters like “Ghayal,” “Damini” and “Ghatak.”
So, analyzing the current scenario, the box-office clash between “Awarapan 2” and “Lahore 1947” looks like a win-win situation for cinegoers but a wait-and-watch situation for the makers of both films, with promotional assets playing pivotal roles.
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